Day 21 - Newfound Gap to Tri-Corner Knob

Ten of us piled into the motel room Wednesday night. Dave and I got a bed, with Phil and Jason on the floor in our room. Watched some TV for a while, including part of Boot Camp (c’mon now, that doesn’t look so tough after all), South Park, and the Simpson’s.

Tim’s sister Mary is on a road trip and happened to be in Tennessee, so they hooked up. Pretty cool. Got up and out of the motel by 8. A hiker picked us up and was only going to take us ¾ of the way but ended up bringing us all the way to Newfound Gap. It was cold up there. Some Texas women asked me to take their picture in front of snow.

It was a beautiful clear day with lots of great views. A thru-hiker had told us that the second half of the Smokies are some of the easiest miles on the AT down south, and he seemed to be right. Took a bunch of pictures and made really good time.

Got to the shelter around 4 (started at 9). It was already starting to get crowded, so we quickly threw down our sleeping bags. I believe 19 people jammed themselves in. I was between Dave and Tim. It was so cold that I put on two pairs of long underwear, shorts, sleeveless shirt, two long-sleeved shirts, fleece, thick hat, two pairs of Smartwool socks, and was still cold. Nothing to do but snuggle into my zero degree sleeping bag. And with no light, nothing to do but sleep. I try not to look at the time, but it couldn’t have been 8:30.

I am always worried about the “pee factor” and try not to drink anything at night. Around 9 I woke up and thought I had to pee but couldn’t bear (no pun intended) the thought of getting out of my sleeping bag, finding my shoes, feeling my way to the cage door, and hoping that I didn’t encounter a bear on my evening excursion. So I held it -- for 91/2 hours!